Texas Governor Greg Abbott

“You can shine your shoes and wear a suit.
“You can comb your hair and look quite cute.
“You can hide your face behind a smile.
“One thing you can’t hide,
“Is when you’re crippled inside.”

– John Lennon, “Crippled Inside,” from his 1971 album “Imagine”

Everything is BIGGER in Texas.

Including assholes.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott leaves the podium after speaking at the 11th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast May 7 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn) See BREAKFAST May 7, 2015.

The news item linked below, is from Daily Wire, a so-called “conservative” reporting outlet.

Texas’ BIGGEST problem is an incompetent and crippled Governor.

It’s not just his legs that are lame.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/governor-abbott-democrats-who-fled-texas-to-stop-democracy-will-be-arrested-immediately-upon-return

But then, what can one say about a 26-year-old man who, as new Vanderbilt University Law School graduate studying for the upcoming bar exam, while out jogging with a friend on July 14, 1984 in Houston’s wealthy River Oaks neighborhood, in a freak accident, had an oak tree to fall upon him, and then, sued the landowner, and the tree service company, and won a literal tax-free insurance jackpot for life?

Abbott’s settlement included

Trump Administration More Incompetent Than Originally Thought

The more we progressed into this utterly incompetent and anti-American administration, the more I became convinced that the true extent of the damages done by the actions of this President and his maladministration will not be evident until at least a year, or two – or perhaps more – into the successive administration.

And, it just goes to prove my long-held point, that GOPers, now known as “the Party of Trump,” and formerly known as “Republics” (if those assholes can call Democrats “Democrat” instead of “Democratic” when referring to the party, then Republicans can be called “Republic,” or “Republics.” After all, turn about’s fair play) are hell-bent upon tearing down and destroying practically every vestige of government, all in the name of “efficiency,” or whatever they want to call it.

And remember: It was originally Ronald Reagan, who in his first Inaugural Address flatly stated that “government is the problem.” Of course, one needn’t be a rocket surgeon or a brain scientist to figure out that, if X is the problem, then the elimination of X is the solution to the problem. And in this case, “government” was the problem.

And so, Robin Hood and his band of merry men set of to rob and steal, to tear down and destroy as much of the system as they possibly could, all in the name of “liberty,” and “efficiency.” Passing tax cuts along to the wealthy, and doing little-to-nothing for the poor.

Destroy the monetary distribution system associated with funding various government programs – not all of which were social programs – and turn them all into “block grants” (blocks of money) and allow the states to play with them as they will to their hearts’ desire, all in the name of “efficiency.” And then, allow them to set up whatever freaky-deaky program and arcane asinine rules they want to associate with it. In other words, pervert it to the extent that it no longer looks like it once did, and is only a mere spectre of a program, and a mockery of the law that made it.

The Republic Party and its members haven’t done a goddamn thing to BUILD UP this country, and have ONLY worked like hell to tear it down, bit-by-bit, piece-by-piece.

They’re still straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, and still champing at the bit to privatize Social Security. They almost privatized the U.S. Postal Service under the maladministration of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was actively aiding and abetting the destruction of the mail delivery system specifically in order to thwart the election, and throw it to the POS45 campaign. Fortunately, his treasonously corrupt efforts were caught in time, and stopped.

America was brought to the brink of destruction by this malignant misleader.

Fortunately, our Constitution works! And come January, we will have an entirely new administration and President – one of whom we can be proud!

And a parting thought: Since when did inexperience become a valued quality in regard to governmental service – as if someone with LITERALLY NO EXPERIENCE whatsoever is somehow qualified to be the Chief Executive? NO ONE in their right mind would imagine even for a moment that some moron picked up from off the street could run Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Apple Computer, Ford Motor Company, or any other multi-million dollar business. So why would anyone think for a moment that someone with LITERALLY NO EXPERIENCE OF ANY KIND at any level in public service, either appointed, or elected, would have any ability to govern? Seriously! Why?

And that, my friends, is what we have had for the past 4 years – an utterly incompetent, and clueless boob.

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businessinsider.com

A government watchdog says the Labor Department has been releasing flawed data — and finds that most states underpaid jobless Americans

Ben Winck

Monday, 30 November 2020

---

• The Labor Department reported false counts of week-to-week jobless-benefits claims, and several states underpaid unemployed Americans through a key economic relief program, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
• Inconsistent state data, claims backlogs, and potential fraud in the benefits system resulted in “flawed week-to-week comparisons” of jobless-claims data, the government watchdog said.
• Average weekly payments through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program fell below the poverty line in 29 of the 41 states reporting data, the agency added. While some states made minimum payments first and plan to back pay remaining totals, it’s unclear when the process can be completed.
• The GAO’s report signals the virus’ economic fallout may be greater than first thought and that most states aren’t paying out the immediate relief allocated by Congress.

The Labor Department’s weekly tally of unemployment-insurance filings has reflected inaccurate data throughout the pandemic, and jobless Americans are being underpaid through the benefits program, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.

The historic number of unemployed Americans applying for benefits has skewed weekly claims figures for months, the government watchdog said in its report. Inconsistent state data, claims backlogs, and potential fraud in the benefits system has resulted in “flawed week-to-week comparisons of total claims numbers,” the GAO added.

Additionally, a program meant to provide benefits to workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic has been underpaying recipients in most states, the GAO said. Some states paid minimum amounts first and

Fool Me Once, Shame On You. Fool Me… You Can’t Get Fooled Again.

Perhaps you’ll recall that butchered line uttered by then-POTUS George W. Bush in Nashville, TN, September 17, 2002 at East Literature Magnet School.

https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020917-7.html

Yet, the buffoonery and vulgar hilarity of this administration’s utter incompetence is nothing short of poetic irony, indeed!

His bull-in-the-china-shop, burn-it-all-down approach made Bush II look like a piker, a rank amateur, a mere wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn.

But Bush’s malapropisms were a peculiarly, albeit somewhat endearing trait of his.

However, nothing this POTUS has ever said has

Trump’s Presidency A Failure, And The GOP Age Is Over

“He’s left a ballooning debt, and deficit.

He’s left a hollowed-out government
with
positions unfilled,
a diplomatic corps that’s
lost morale,
an intelligence agency that
has been torn apart
with
how it can advise the President.

He’s left a wake of destruction behind him.

That is his legacy.”

–– V. Kim Hoggard, high-level official, Reagan & GHW Bush administrations, on POTUS Donald John Trump

If the GOP suffers – and they will – blame Trump.

This is your President, America. Revel in the moment when you elected an incompetent idiot.

If the GOP suffers – and they will – blame the GOP.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.

The GOP could have decertified him, and thereby could have prevented him from advancing… but, they did not.

The GOP really doesn’t care for you, or for America.

They only care for their BIG BUSINESS interests and BIG MONEY donors.

And to be certain, there are some Democrats like that – Hillary among them. But those old dinosaurs are dying off politically – thank goodness – and

Trump’s 4-Stage Coronavirus Plan

Here is the Trump administration’s detailed plan for their response in the event of a widespread outbreak of coronavirus:

Stage I: We say,

Remember: TAKE OUT THE TRASH IN NOVEMBER!

You KNOW things are serious when a majority of physicians, scientists, researchers and others come out against a political leader, especially and particularly the President… when they’ve NEVER DONE IT BEFORE.

America has NOT been made “great again” by our feckless misleader, the Liar in Chief, Donald John Trump.

It’s time to TAKE OUT THE TRASH IN NOVEMBER!

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In an uncharacteristic move, The New England Journal of Medicine recently took a step which they have not since their 1812 founding.

 

A scathing editorial signed by all 34 editors of the publication – physicians, scientists, health researchers, and medical experts – acknowledged that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the President and his administration have “taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.”

The group minced no words in their scorching criticism of the President and his administration for their abysmal, still-ongoing failures which have claimed at least 212,466 lives, and counting, by writing that “Instead of relying on expertise, the administration has turned to uninformed ‘opinion leaders’ and charlatans who obscure the truth and facilitate the promulgation of outright lies.”

Solution being carefully poured into a petri dish that sits under a micro scope. A medical scientist wearing glasses can be seen concentrating as he pours from the glass flask. Selective focus.

Noting that physicians and other healthcare professionals face the possibility of lawsuits, and loss of license for such malpractice, they acknowledged that the nation’s solitary recourse for political malfeasance is to vote him out of office, and wrote that, “Anyone else who recklessly squandered lives and money in this way would be suffering legal consequences. Our leaders have largely claimed immunity for their actions. But this election gives us the power to render judgment.”

They cited America’s Trump-led failures and wrote that in comparison to other nations, “We have failed at almost every step. We had ample warning, but when the disease first arrived, we were incapable of testing effectively and

Donald’s Daily Death Count

AT LEAST

183,068

KNOWN DEAD

FROM

COVID-19

BECAUSE OF

DONALD “DJ” TRUMP.

 

VERY NEARLY 6 MILLION INFECTED.

 

ALL BECAUSE OF TRUMP.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall Is Callous To Suicide

“Ambushed” is how Alabama’s GOP Attorney General Steve Marshall characterized the Department of Justice’s findings of the State of Alabama’s Department of Corrections unconstitutionally inhumane treatment of prisoners.

That came from the weakling former District Attorney whom corrupt GOP former Governor Bentley appointed February 2017 to avoid prosecution.

But perhaps Marshall is correct – that he was ambushed – and for that reason is so utterly inept and incompetent that

COVID-19 Deaths In America: It’s ALL Trump’s Fault… ALL OF IT

When it’s all over, said and done, this ENTIRE COVID-19 disaster and ALL its deaths will be justifiably and rightfully laid at the feet of the POTUS, the GOP and this utterly inept, and corruptly incompetent administration.

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How to Track COVID-19 Nursing Home Cases and Deaths in Your State

What states are reporting and how to find it

by Emily Paulin, AARP, Updated June 11, 2020
https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/health/info-2020/coronavirus-nursing-home-cases-deaths.html

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https://apnews.com/12d83565f65f998c5bfdb32daed08ba2

Harrowing blame game over COVID-19 toll in nursing homes

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Monday, June 15, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — A grim blame game with partisan overtones is breaking out over COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents, a tiny slice of the population that represents a shockingly high proportion of Americans who have perished in the pandemic.

The Trump administration has been pointing to a segment of the industry — facilities with low federal ratings for infection control — and to some Democratic governors who required nursing homes to take recovering coronavirus patients.

Homes that followed federal infection control guidelines were largely able to contain the virus, asserts Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, which sets standards and pays the bills. “Trying to finger-point and blame the federal government is absolutely ridiculous,” she says.

Verma says data collected by her agency suggest a connection between low ratings on safety inspections and COVID-19 outbreaks. But several academic researchers say their own work has found no such link.

Advocates for older people say the federal government hasn’t provided needed virus testing and sufficient protective gear to allow nursing homes to operate safely. A White House directive to test all residents and staff has been met with an uneven response.

“The lack of federal coordination certainly has impeded facilities’ ability to identify infected persons and to provide care,” Eric Carlson, a long-term care expert with the advocacy group Justice in Aging, told lawmakers. “That absence remains important as facilities are attempting to open up, which requires an extensive reliance on testing.”

Democrats are critical of the Trump administration response.

“We need action,” says Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. “We need a plan from CMS and we need resources to stop the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes.”

Nationwide, more than 45,500 residents and staff have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to a running count by The Associated Press. That’s about 40% of more than 115,000 total deaths. Nursing home residents are less than 1% of the U.S. population.

It’s a sensitive election year issue for President Donald Trump, who’s trying to hang on to support from older voters. A recent CNN poll found that 54% of adults 65 and older said they disapproved of how Trump is handling his job as president, while 44% approved.

With more coronavirus legislation possible this year, congressional Democrats are pressing for a national testing plan and additional resources for nursing homes. Republicans are mainly seconding the administration’s arguments.

During a recent briefing for lawmakers, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican, blamed New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the high numbers of deaths in his state. A since-rescinded state directive that nursing homes had to accept recovering coronavirus patients “ended up being a death sentence” in New York and several states with similar policies, Scalise said.

Scalise echoed earlier, less forceful, comments from

America’s COVID-19 Infection Rate Likely at Least TWICE the Reported Number

According to publicly available information compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as of 2100 GMT/UCT Wednesday, 22 April 2020, in the United States, there were:

• 842,319 Confirmed COVID-19 cases

• 46,399 COVID-19 deaths

• 4,171,896 Total COVID-19 Tests Conducted

• United States population is very nearly 330,000,000

• COVID-19’s incubation time ranges between 2 to 14 days.

• 4,466,559 have been tested

• At least 30%–50% of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic carriers (show no signs or symptoms of infection, i.e., no fever, no chills, no loss of taste, no loss of smell, no muscle aches, no nausea, no vomiting, no upset stomach, no loss of appetite, no diarrhea, no cough, no runny nose, no sore/scratchy throat, no headache, no tiredness, no shortness of breath, no difficulty breathing, no feeling of hotness {subjective fever}, etc.)

Extrapolating, what that means is:

• Only 1.3535% of the American population has been tested for COVID-19.

• 120,932 Total have been Hospitalized

• Potentially 421,160 MORE, or AT LEAST 1,263,479 people could be infected – 50% more than have been diagnosed

• The U.S. COVID-19 Death Rate is 5.5084%

Globally, there are:

• 2,623,231 Total Confirmed COVID-19 cases

• 182,740 Total COVID-19 Deaths

The COVID-19 Global Death Rate is 6.9662%.

At this juncture, there are 707,331 known Total Recovered COVID-19 cases globally.

These figures are by no means final; they are merely preliminary good estimates, because the scenario is changing daily, and more diagnoses are being made, and autopsies which are showing COVID-19 infection as a cause of death.

The Santa Clara County California Medical Examiner’s Office recently reported that following autopsy results, TWO deaths occurred in that county February 6, and 17, both related to COVID-19, which put the dates of the first known deaths in the United States back by at least two weeks, instead of the case in Kirkland, Washington on February 29 which to date, was thought to be the first COVID-19 related death in the United States.

Essentially, the implications are precisely in keeping with what we know about COVID-19, that it is insidious – progressing inconspicuously, but harmfully – stealthily and seriously damaging before it makes its presence known with symptoms.

The experts (not the POTUS) from the CDC, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, tell us that

Trump Tax Cuts Aided & Abetted Economic Collapse

The parallels are eerily similar. Republican POTUS, tax cuts, rising stock market, job losses… Great Depression.

Of course, there are other markers along the way, but the primary ones are self evident.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase wrote no less than twice that a recession was coming in the company’s April 6, 2020 letter to shareholders. “Recognizing the extraordinary extension of new credit, mentioned above, and knowing there will be a major recession [emphasis added] mean that we are exposing ourselves to billions of dollars of additional credit losses as we help both consumer and business customers through these difficult times.” p10
-and-
“Halting buybacks was simply a very prudent action – we don’t know exactly what the future will hold – but at a minimum, we assume that it will include a bad recession [emphasis added] combined with some kind of financial stress similar to the global financial crisis of 2008.” p15

Bluntly put, it wasn’t China that started this problem.

Just like in the Great Depression, and the “Great Recession,” it was the United States.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase

And the entire world suffered.

Not only did Dimon unequivocally state that we will suffer “a major recession,” and reiterated it writing “the future… will include a bad recession,” but he also identifies problems that most Democrats (Bernie Sanders notably among them) have long identified, which Republicans refuse to even hear – critical problems in health, healthcare, education, (within the purview of domestic security), infrastructure, declining wages, increased poverty, failed immigration policies, governmental inefficiency at Federal and state levels, and more.

Dimon continued by writing,

“Of course, America has always had its flaws. The current pandemic is only one example of the bad planning and management that have hurt our country: Our inner city schools don’t graduate half of their students and don’t give our children an education that leads to a livelihood; our healthcare system is increasingly costly with many of our citizens lacking any access; and nutrition and personal health aren’t even being taught at many schools. Obesity has become a national scourge. We have a litigation and regulatory system that cripples small businesses with red tape and bureaucracy; ineffective infrastructure planning and investment; and huge waste and inefficiency at both the state and federal levels. We have failed to put proper immigration policies in place; our social safety nets are poorly designed; and the share of wages for the bottom 30% of Americans has effectively been going down. We need to acknowledge these problems and the damage they have done if we are ever going to fix them.

There should have been a pandemic playbook. Likewise, every problem I noted above should have detailed and nonpartisan solutions. As we have seen in past crises of this magnitude, there will come a time when

Racism & Bigotry Abounds in the #ALpolitics State Democratic Executive Committee

racist: rāsəst:
A person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.

bigot: A person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions.

As a noun, racism is “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human racial groups determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.”

Yesterday – Saturday July 11, 2015 – the State Democratic Executive Committee of the Alabama Democratic Party met in Montgomery. The ostensible purpose of that meeting was to elect members to fill vacancies in the party.

Alabama Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Worley

Things didn’t go well.

But then again, things haven’t gone well for the Alabama Democratic Party for quite some time.

The reason why is quite simple, and can be summed up in one word: Mismanagement.

Chairwoman Nancy Worley, former Secretary of State, and former teacher from New Hope, in Madison county (in the northernmost part of the state, bordering Tennessee), has

Ignorance abounds in Alabama… but, there are signs of hope & change!

I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it with my own two eyes.

Alabama State Senator Bryan Taylor’s (R) response to a query on McCarthyism.

In a recent news report, it was mentioned that Alabama State Senator Bryan Taylor – whose Twitter presence and moniker is @SenBryanTaylor – recently Tweeted in response to a query mentioning late former United States Senator Joe McCarthy, that “Never heard of the guy, so I guess I’ll have to get the book, study up on him, and see if its credible.”

Huntsville Hospital Kills Child: Permanently Disabled 1y/o Child Later Died

Welcome to Alabama, where the legal concept of respondeat superior apparently does NOT apply.

Some would call this murder.

If a person driving drunk kills someone, nowadays, they’re charged with murder – even though they did not plan, or intend upon killing someone (the element of premeditation, or forethought).

But why isn’t Huntsville Hospital charged with murder? (It’s kinda’ difficult to charge a corporation with murder, but it’s quite possible that the officers can be indicted or charged.)

And why aren’t those directly responsible (those in the Recovery Room who were responsible for Gracie’s care) charged with Murder?

It’s painfully obvious some things MUST change in Alabama regarding healthcare.

—

Girl disabled, later dies, after tonsillectomy at Huntsville Hospital; Alabama public hospitals‘ liability capped at $100,000

By Challen Stephens | cstephens@al.com on December 03, 2012 at 1:03 PM, updated December 03, 2012 at 4:18 PM

Randy Smith and Deedee Smith talk about raising a child with disabilities while Gracelynn, 5, sits in her wheelchair during an interview in their home Monday, November 19, 2012 in Athens, Ala. (Eric Schultz / eschultz@al.com)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Four years ago, Gracie knew a few dozen words and had just learned to walk backwards. But Gracie had a little trouble breathing at night. Doctors said it would only get worse, so they decided to remove her tonsils.

The surgery lasted less than 15 minutes.

In the recovery room at Huntsville Hospital, Gracie was standing on her bed calling for her mother. “We were told she was having difficulty coming out of anesthesia,” said her father Randy Smith. Nurses said the girl needed to rest to recover. In the recovery room, the family says, she was allowed to stop breathing for more than 10 minutes.

Dan Aldridge, attorney for the Smiths, said Gracie “was not connected to the customary monitoring equipment that sounds an alarm if vital signs reach a dangerous zone.” He said the nurses, three of them, were in the recovery room. At one point, her mother voiced concern. “I was told, ‘Mom, now don’t wake her up, if we get her up, we will never calm her down,” said Dee Dee Smith. “My response was she was not breathing.”

Dee Dee said one of the nurses touched the girl’s foot. It was cold. Aldridge said “code” was called. Medical staff poured into the room. Gracie would spend the next 18 hours in a coma. When Dee Dee finally got to hold her girl again, the girl’s eyes were open but

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Defies Federal Law, Refuses to Establish Healthcare Insurance Exchange for Citizens

Governor Bentley is pulling a George Wallace stand-in-the-schoolhouse-door redux.

What an ignorant ass he is!

It’s exceedingly sad that he – as a physician – ordered Alabama’s 67 Counties Departments of Public Health to STOP giving Tuberculosis tests, thereby jeopardizing the public health of everyone who eats at a public restaurant, works in healthcare, and more – and was done as super-virulent, drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are emerging. Gee, thanks, Governor Dr. Bentley. NOT!

Thanks for nothing, you jack-legged nincompoop!

By your defiant actions, Governor Bentley, you will FORCE the Federal Government to do something TOTALLY against your opinion – and that is, to establish a Health Insurance Exchange in Alabama.

You, Governor Bentley, are a lazy, sorry, idiotic jerk, in addition to being a liar, thief, incompetent boob, and contemptuous good-for-nothing.

Pejoratives aside, more than anything, this places the solitary onus of responsibility upon the governor and legislature to 1.) Increase education,; 2.) Increase employment; 3.) Increase Corporate Income Tax rates; and 4.) Increase Personal Income Tax rates on the wealthiest Alabamians who already pay a well-documented rate that is significantly lower than the impoverished.

By increasing educational attainment in Alabama, the governor will be demonstrating a high-quality, high-yield investment in the state’s most precious resource – people.

But the governor – bless him – is ignorant, and it is quite painfully obvious that he just doesn’t understand such simple concepts. He should understand them, however, because he has said previously, that he used the G.I. Bill to complete his medical training after his enlistment ended.

In stark contrast, Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Haslam said, “I’ve always said from the very beginning that anything we [Tennessee] can run instead of the federal government, we are going to run it better and cheaper,” The simpler thing to do is to say, ‘Here, it’s your idea, you run it,’ but I’m not convinced yet that that’s what’s best for our citizens. There’s going to be an exchange and ultimately, our citizens — through their insurance companies — are going to pay for the costs of running that exchange. So who do we think can run it cheaper: us or the federal government? I’ll bet on us every time. But we have to be convinced that the flexibility they will give us is worth taking the risk of running it ourselves.”

For the benefit of the reader who may be unaware of what an Insurance Exchange is, the exchange is designed to allow uninsured people to compare and buy health insurance plans through a single Internet portal. Those who earn up to four times the federally designated poverty level will receive subsidies to pay for the coverage.

Essentially, it’s an Internet-based non-business (nobody is making any money), that creates a database of health insurance carriers that all adhere to certain guidelines for efficiency and coverage. The law allows states to join together to run multi-state exchanges – essentially, insurance across state lines – or to exclude themselves.

In essence, make a list of companies that sell health insurance in the state, make a comparison of their plans and prices, and provide a link to the company for folks to buy insurance from whatever company they want.

Not too difficult to figure out, eh?

Here’s a link to an informative flyer from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation about what Health Insurance Exchanges are, and what they do.

You may also be interested in reading the informative site http://healthreform.kff.org.

 

—

Gov. Bentley says Alabama won’t set up exchange, expand Medicaid

By Kim Chandler | kchandler@al.com
on November 13, 2012 at 1:38 PM, updated November 13, 2012 at 5:19 PM

Bentley, in a show of continued resistance to the Affordable Care Act,  said this afternoon that he will not set up a state health care exchange and he will not expand Medicaid under the federal healthcare overhaul.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley speaks at the Birmingham Business Alliance 2012 Governor’s Luncheon in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. (Tamika Moore | tmoore@al.com) / Tuesday, November 13, 2012 1:17 PM

“I will not set up a state exchange in Alabama,” Bentley said during a speech to the Birmingham Business Alliance.

States have a Friday deadline to inform the  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  if they plan to set up a state-run exchange, essentially a marketplace for people and businesses to shop for insurance. If states don’t set up their own exchange, either alone or in federal partnership, then the federal government will step in and design it.

Bentley said he has been in communication with other governors  — including peers in Texas, Florida and Louisiana — about the exchange decision.  He expected multiple governors to show a united front of resistance to the Affordable Care Act.

“If we stand together, I do believe Congress is going to have to look at this again,”Bentley said.

Bentley said he expected other governors to announce similar decisions.

“That will

How Governor Bentley & Alabama’s GOP dominated state legislature raped their “constituency”

Allow me to be more explicitly succinct: Governor Bentley and the GOP led legislature are lying sons-of-bitches who ought to burn in Hades for how they’ve raped and lied to the people of the state of Alabama.

I have only one thing for them: Utter Contempt.

—

The $437 Million Hustle

Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 9:07 AM
Updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 9:12 AM
By George Talbot

Bridget Stafford of Montgomery casts her vote on Amendment 1 at Vaughn Park Church of Christ in Montgomery, Ala., Sept. 18, 2012. (Julie Bennett | al.com)

In honor of the constitutional amendment approved by Alabama voters on Sept. 18, we here at the South Alabama Political Animals Club would like to introduce a new award.

Let’s call it the Karl Rove – James Carville Political Slickum Trophy. The inaugural winners? Gov. Robert Bentley, House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Senate President Del Marsh, who pulled off a political hustle as sharp as anything outside of a Chicago pool hall.

The Republican leaders were in a jam, and got Democratic voters to bail them out. Impossible, you say?

The numbers don’t lie. The amendment, which allows the state to tap into the Alabama Trust Fund to pay for government operating expenses, won by big margins in Democratic precincts, and was soundly rejected in the state’s more conservative corners.

Voters in deeply Republican Baldwin, Cullman, Madison and Shelby counties, for instance, shot down the measure by nearly 2 to 1. But the GOP proposal reaped a bounty of support from Democratic voters in Mobile, Jefferson and Montgomery counties.

The margins were even greater in the Black Belt, Alabama’s last Democratic stronghold, where the amendment rode a wave of “yes” votes in Greene, Perry and Wilcox counties. In Dallas County, it got eight “yes” votes for every one “no.”

How’d that happen?

Supporters of the proposal, organized as the Keep Alabama Working political action committee, raised big money from groups that would have taken a budget hit if the measure had failed – chiefly nursing homes and hospitals.

Much of that money was raised and spent by

Do NOT “update” WordPress iPhone app

For the untold numbers of iPhone users whom even occasionally use the WordPress blogging app, I have ONE suggestion: STAY AWAY from the UPDATE to version 2.6!

Having been a faithful customer of Apple, and of the iPhone, I am experiencing increasing discontent with what I perceive to be very careless, lackadaisical, even malicious failures of developers to be attuned to the iOS and issues of compatibility, or even operation! It’s akin to going to a restaurant, ordering a two eggs omelette, and having the raw ingredients dumped in your lap by the cook. Meanwhile, the hotty-totty waitress smiles and coos, asking if you’d like a refill on your coffee.

“Sure, hon… can I have a hot fresh cup poured in my lap?”

The text of my report to the developer follows:

We promised to pay your retirement pension, but now, we won’t. Sosumi… you bastards!

For those “in the know,” “Sosumi” is the name of a computer sound which Apple Computer of Cupertino, CA created and has used for quite some time.

I love Apple Computer, well, not genuinely “love,” but have always believed them to be the best – bar none – computer operating system, superior in every way to Microsoft’s Windows OS. Folks used to say, “Oh, the Mac is good for graphics,” and other such nonsense, even when the Mac OS was in v7.x.

Today, I ask folks, “What’s the Internet all about?” Graphics, graphics, graphics, and media, media, media.

And still, some folks continue to use the infection-prone Windows. Oh well. Some folks never learn.

On to Sosumi.

If you’ve ever heard of the “Beatles,” (and who hasn’t?) you should be aware that

Woud you pass the Amy Bishop buck, please?

Remember the old teevee commercial for Polaner All Fruit?

Folks attired in formal wear – tuxedos and evening gowns – were seated around a dining room table enjoying their prim and proper meal, when the camera focused on one fellow whom said with a distinctly hick-sounding country-twang, “Would you pass the jelly, please?” Whereupon, the gentlemen appeared shocked while the ladies seemed to faint.

The announcer then said, “Don’t dare call it ‘jelly’!”

William Delahunt, the Congressional Representative for Massachusetts’ 10th District, was the Norfolk District Attorney when Amy Bishop

Riley’s weakest speech ever

This evening (Tuesday, 12 January 2010), in his final “state of the state” address to the legislature and the people of Alabama, Governor Bob Riley delivered one of the worst speeches I have ever heard – it was definitely not his personal best.

The way I see it, good-bye and good riddance Bob. You’ve screwed Alabama seven years too long.

You and your cronies cry and whine over public scrutiny given to your $13,000,000 no-bid contract to some nefarious, no-name, no contact information, no website, no identity, no address “company” with ties to your Washington Republican insiders called “Paragon,” claiming no other company or person could do the work. But you’ve been proven wrong by the Huntsville Times, which reported that over 150 Alabama-based companies could have done the work you awarded to that Virginia “company”  by deliberately abandoning the publicly competitive process that saves taxpayers’ dollars.

You boast about jobs you’ve created, but at $55,600/year, which is Alabama’s average household income for a family of three, that $13,000,000 could have employed 233 people in Alabama for a year, or 117 for two years – which is the contract’s term.

It is indeed ironic that paragon means the highest and greatest example; and in this case, it is one to avoid.

Oh… and since you are the undisputed King of No-Bid Contracts – having awarding more no-bid contracts that any other governor in Alabama’s history (against which you campaigned as candidate) – let me publicly call you an ASSHOLE, LIAR and HYPOCRITE.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley addresses the people and legislature in his final "state of the state" address, Tuesday evening, January 12, 2010 in the Montgomery capitol building.